1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the construction of ships and in particular to a new and useful container ship particularly for cooling containers having a loading space extending above the vessel side walls and longitudinal bulkheads which is defined by upright longitudinal walls extending above a bracing deck and by transversely extending supporting frames having supports for stowing individual containers and for connecting them to a means for circulating a cooling medium through the container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention is particularly applicable for the construction of a cooling container ship. Shelter decks are known for ships which terminate at the top in a structure which is not designed as a supporting longitudinal bracing of the ship. The height of this structure exceeds the conventional height of the deck. The side walls of the structure are adjoined by parts which support the sttucture on both sides and which have a height which is less than the height of the structure. The lateral part of the structure terminates short of the ship ends and in turn are terminated by shelter decks. The lateral corridors thus formed can be used for storing high tanks which form balancing means for the stability of the ship. The upper supporting longitudinal cords of the hull are arranged in the decks of this laterally embracing part of the shelter deck. Such a construction which does not concern a cooling container ship serves to provide a fully removable shelter deck space so that the surveying advantages of the normal shelter deck ship are maintained.
A seagoing vessel with a loading spaced for container transport which is open at the top and protected at the front and sides by stationary walls is known and the containers of such a vessel are stowed above the weather deck without conventional stowing racks. The container loading spaces are also protected at the rear by stationary walls. The loading space can be covered at the top by a tarpaulin. In such ships the containers are exposed to the surrounding air, to precipitation and spray water from the and to outside temperature fluctuations. These ships offer no possibility for storing containers at constant temperature particularly for cooling the containers.
Two different types of constructions are known for cooling the containers in cooling container ships. One construction of a cooling container ship is equipped with at least one hold and with a cooling plant fixedly mounted on the ship for cooling the heat insulated containers stored inside the ship. The entire air of the stowing space is circulated and conducted through a heating or cooling device which can be arranged in the space between the hull of the ship and a longitudinal bulkhead forming the wall of the loading space. The air is exhausted at the bottom end of the stowing space and conducted through the heating and/or cooling device and forced through the upper part of the stowing space back into the device. The air thus surrounds the containers. A disadvantage in this construction is that the entire space above the bracing deck of the ship remains unused for storing containers.
In another construction of a cooling container ship, the loading station is not provided with an insulation against heat radiation from the outside as in the construction mentioned above. On one or several walls of the bulkheads extending in the longitudinal or traverse direction of the ship and secured in the loading space is an air cooling plant. Connected to this cooling plant are one or more air ducts on which are arranged nipples or couplings for connection to the cooling containers. The air ducts are designed as double ducts, one of which carries the supply air and other the return air. The air ducts are heat insulated and each container is provided with two connections one serving for the supply and the other for the return. In this construction also the loading space is terminated at the normal level by an upper hatch and the space above the hatch is not included in the ship's own cooling system.
It is also known to use the space above the normal bracing deck for storing cooling containers where the cooling containers are provided with special cooling devices which are principally of the electrical type and which are connected to current supply cables on deck. A disadvantage of this construction is that the cooling containers are exposed to the surrounding air and precipitation and spray water, etc. Each container stored on deck must be washed and attended separately.